After the news of Batyr’s sudden death, thousands of the musician’s fans in all cities of Kazakhstan came out to central squares and embankments to bid him farewell. For several hours, people sang the artist’s songs, brought flowers, photos of Batyr and candles.

In May 2015, Batyrkhan Shukenov would have turned 53 years old. On the musician’s birthday, concerts organized by fans were held all over Kazakhstan. Batyr’s songs were played in dozens of cities across the country that day.

"Of course, it would have been wonderful if he could have come out and receive the award himself. Now, as the days go by, we are looking through the archives and want to say that this is not his last award. He will still surprise all of us with his new songs, all the audiences who loved him".

In the fall of 2015, Ali Okapov performed a song by Shyryn Bazarkulova on lyrics by Israil Saparbay and dedicated it to the memory of Batyr. Musicians and friends of the singer took part in the shooting of the video.

"Your home is where your heart is, Batyr used to say. Every time I come to Kazakhstan – I feel it. It really is my home. I’m very grateful to the people who helped organize this concert. They are wonderful friends who immediately responded to the initiative to come and perform.
He explained that he specially organised an evening of classical music, which Batyr loved and appreciated. He was helped in this by the famous performers Alexey Naydyonov from Russia and Vladimir Kosyanenko from Croatia. The musicians of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of Astana also took part in the concert.
Batyrkhan didn’t divide music, he divided music into genres. That’s actually the answer to why we decided to organize a classical music concert. He was a very vulnerable and sensitive person, and his heart couldn’t take it. But his music and the memory of him as a wonderful man remained. His love, his love for his art, for his listeners, for his country, for his parents, for his friends, remained".

At the end of 2015, the posthumous album by Batyrkhan Shukenov, titled ‘Amanat’, was released and included 10 songs in the Kazakh languages. Arsen Rysdauletov writes in his review for internet portal Vlast that Amanat, the title of the whole collection, is the final song in the triptych about the Motherland, which Batyr wrote together with composer Kuat Shildebayev.

At the end of 2015, a charity concert in memory of Batyrkhan Shukenov “Batyr Lives” was organized by the joint efforts of Kazakh and Russian pop stars, which took place at the Palace of the Republic in Almaty. All participants in the event performed Batyr’s songs. Funds raised from ticket sales were transferred to the account of the musician’s son, Maksut Shukenov.

Another concert “To the artist. To the friend. To the musician” with classical music performers, which was organized by Arman Murzagaliyev.

In May 2016, friends of the performer organized a concert in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in memory of Batyrkhan Shukenov, “Dusha”.

In September 2016, a photo exhibition dedicated to the memory of Batyr opened in Almaty. Most of the photos are the works of Batyr’s close friend Nikolay Postnikov, who accompanied the singer throughout his entire creative career: from the creation of the Alma-Ata band to the final solo concerts.

The Republican Vocalist Contest, established by the Department of Culture of Kyzylorda Oblast, was named after one of Batyr’s most famous songs, Otan Ana. In 2020, the contest was to be held for the third time.
Source: Yegemen Kazakhstan

A concert in honor of the artist’s 55th birthday, with the participation of both Kazakh and international colleagues of Batyr, was held at the Palace of the Republic in Almaty. It was organized by the Batyrkhan Shukenov Public Foundation.

In 2018, the Batyrkhan Shukenov Public Foundation established a Batyr scholarship for talented students of wind instruments departments of higher and secondary educational institutions of Kazakhstan. The scholarship will be awarded for the third time in 2020. Every year it covers more and more musical institutions of the country.

There is a Batyr street in Almaty. Source: Tengrinews

In 2018, we published a sheet music issue “Sagym duniye”, which collected works by Batyr, written by friends of the artist – composers who have entered the history of Kazakh music: Kuat Shildebayev, Tolegen Mukhamedjanov, Najib Vildanov and Renat Gaisin.
The title of the collection “Sagym duniye” conveys the spirit of Batyr’s works, embodying a ‘mirage world’, in which everything that comes, is in constant motion, gradually retreating into eternity.
The collection includes the works “Otan Ana”, “Sagym duniye”, “Qayran qonil-ai”, “Ayalagan arman-ai”, “Kezdesu”, “Ake”, “Zhan ana”, “Angys aru”, “Zhuregimde Astana”, “Kunder-ai”, “Aldar Kose”, “Uyiqta, bopem”, “Asem duniye”, “Amanat”.
Eighteen musical educational institutions in the country received the publication free of charge.
DOWNLOAD LINK FOR SHEET MUSIC

In June 2019 there was a presentation of a single edition of all Batyr’s solo albums, including the previously unreleased ones – Nas iscelyaet lyubov and Osen. The work on the release of the anthology was conducted for almost two years. The music for many of the compositions on this disc was written by Russian composer Pavel Yessenin. The cover for it was created by the designer Arys Arenov. Batyrkhan Shukenov’s son Maksut also took an active part in this work.

“The name of the album was chosen after Batyr’s death. It refers to the first song we recorded for him”, said Ruslan Magomedov, Batyrkhan Shukenov’s co-producer, “It was a deeply though-out work, but it was going very smoothly. It was generally comfortable working with Batyr. It was as if we were all together, writing a philosophical story as a team.”

In the summer of 2019 the head of Gakku TV channel Timur Balymbetov presented a documentary in memory of Batyrkhan Shukenov, “Batyr.Legacy”, with the participation of the artist’s contemporaries. The film covered the entire creative path of the musician.

In the fall of 2019, the Second National Contest for brass and percussion performers was held. It is a logical continuation of the first contest, where woodwind performers took part. What made this contest special was the presence of a jazz nomination – as a tribute to Batyr’s love of jazz and Charlie Parker.
The continuity of the academic tradition is very important to us, and we are working to create an adequate and beneficial environment. It is important for us to support young musicians in their home country and we would like their voices and talents to be heard and appreciated by their contemporaries.

In June 2020, on the eve of International Children’s Day, we released Batyr’s previously unreleased song “Kolybelnaya”. The song was written back in 1983 by members of the Aray band, but didn’t see the light of day until 37 years later.

“In 1983, coming from a tour of the USSR, we sat down for a short rehearsal period. The Aray band was based at the Palace at the time. One day I stayed after rehearsal and started playing my new instrument, a Rolland. An interesting melody came to my mind and I recorded it and played it for my guys. Everybody liked it and Volodya Miklosic wrote the lyrics to it and called it “Kolybelnaya” (lullaby). Subsequently, it was included in our first album, and since Batyr already had a lot of songs, I sang it, although he liked it very much. After he left A’Studio, Batyr asked me if he could sing it and I gladly agreed, so he became the second performer. Well, I still sing it now, in memory of my friend, who hasn’t been with us for five years now.”

In November 2020, a commemorative postage stamp of Batyrkhan Shukenov was put into circulation together with the Bulat Utemuratov Foundation and Kazpost. The name stamp from the “Art Workers” series was issued by the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry.
The basis of the stamp was a portrait of the singer made in his Almaty studio by photographer Zhanarbek Amankulov. Together with the stamps, special sets of postcards were created, the design of which was developed together with local designers and artists – Mimi Ilnitskaya, Aziz Melibayev, Nurbol Nurakhmet and Assel Nussipkozhanova.
The stamp was accompanied by the #BatyrLetters campaign, where people could send a free postcard with the artist’s image to their loved one.

In December 2020 we published the book “Batyr Love. Appeal to the Young”, which compiles Batyr’s thoughts and ideas, which he shared at different periods of his life, built into a single monologue about creativity, music and belief in oneself.

The book was published in a limited edition of 500 copies in Kazakh and Russian. A special feature of the publication were the sections of the book, typed in Braille, a relief font designed for blind and visually impaired people to read. “We wanted to recreate a portrait of Batyr – alive, not indifferent, modern and sensitive, as we, his relatives, remember him.

We achieved this through the chosen material presentation – only Batyr’s direct speech is used in the book – for this purpose our team processed a large number of records, interviews in Kazakh and Russian languages, dipped into archives and collected materials all over the country.”

In the summer of 2021, together with the Bulat Utemuratov’s Foundation, we held our first music residency for composers, Batyr Lab. The main feature of the retreat is the creation of works using wind instruments and working with the winners of the Batyrkhan Shukenov Contest and Scholarship.

Of the 66 potential participants from across the country, 10 composers with different backgrounds and working in different genres – academic and experimental music, jazz, indie, pop and ethno-rock - were selected and invited. The genre diversity is a tribute to Batyr – and artist who worked in different styles and was in constant search.

On December 17 we released the album Batyr Lab, consisting of 8 unique works incompletely different genres: jazz, classical, pop and ethno-folk. The album was released in partnership with American music distributor The Orchard on all digital platforms. The album reflects the diversity of the local music industry – it is distinctive, multicultural and experimental. The compilation features artists known to local audiences as well as original debutantes.

In December 2021, together with the Bulat Utemuratov’s Foundation, we released a vinyl edition of Batyr’s first solo album, Otan Ana.

The vinyl edition was limited to 100 copies and consisted of 11 compositions, including the Otan Ana song with the same name, the lullaby “Uyiqta, bopem”, and the popular “Sagym duniye” and “Qayran qonil-ai”.

We held a closed contest to prepare the cover, in which Kazakh artists and designers were invited to participate. Then a jury of experts, including Maksut, Batyr’s son, selected and invited the talented designer Guldana Tauassar. The edition was sold out on the first day.